Illustrator: Duplicate layer

For whatever reasons, you might wish copy (duplicate) a layer in Illustrator. In Photoshop you simply right click the layer in the layer pane or use the CTRL + J shortcut. Duplicating a layer in Illustrator is slightly different.

How to make a duplicate layer 1

Make sure your layer panel is actually open by going to WINDOW > LAYERS or using the F7 shortcut.

Click on the layer you want to duplicate, then click in the top right of the layer panel (an icon consisting of a downwards arrow and a few horizontal lines) and select ‘Duplicate “Some Layer”‘. Please note that ‘Some Layer’ is just for the purposes of example. Whatever you’ve name your layer will appear in its place.

How to make a duplicate layer 2

Make sure your layer panel is actually open by going to WINDOW > LAYERS or using the F7 shortcut.

Click, hold, drag the layer you want to duplicate over ‘Create New Layer’ icon and release. The icon is at the very bottom of your layer panel in the same row as the tiny trash icon.

Tip

If you click on the arrow icon of your layer it will reveal the objects contained in that layer. You can repeat either of the above approaches if you wish to duplicate an object or objects but not the entire layer.